This invention relates generally to the field of apparatus for testing condoms,and more particularly to the field of condom testing apparatus which automatically handle, orient and load condoms onto mandrels for testing.
It is necessary in the manufacture of condoms to test each individual condom for minute apertures or holes prior to packaging and sale. Testing devices are well known which utilize a metal mandrel onto which the condom is loaded, the mandrel then being passed across an electrically charged net. If current passes between the net and the mandrel, the condom is defective and is rejected. Because of the composition and lack of structure of condoms, it is the current state of the art to hand load each condom onto the mandrel, automatic devices not being capable of handling, orienting and loading the condoms. This is a very slow and labor intensive process.
It is an object of this invention to provide for a condom testing apparatus in which the condoms are automatically, reliably and rapidly retrieved from a general non-oriented, randomly dispersed batch, successively oriented into a particular configuration and orientation, and then loaded onto the mandrels for testing in the conventional manner.